The Birmingham Museum of Art invites you to meet the man behind the Black Power Salute of the 1968 Olympics and the artist who created Bridge, a tribute to one of the most powerful visual icons of the 20th century.

Don’t miss the Birmingham Museum of Art’s latest contemporary exhibition called Third Space and the series of talks that go along with it. It’s a curated mix of iconic contemporary art plus a chance to meet the artists behind them.

Los-Angeles based conceptual artist Glenn Kaino will be hosting the first “Chapters” serieson April 18, from 6 to 7 pm to talk about his workBridge (Section 1 of 6). Bridge is a sculpture that commemorates Olympian Tommie Smith raising his fist at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

Bham Now had the opportunity to speak with both Kaino and Smith by phone, about the story behind their collaboration.

“Tommie has been an icon of mine for years, which is part of the narrative of how we met,” Kaino said. “I had a picture of him on my computer and a mutual friend walked in and say, ‘Hey, Coach! That’s my coach! Do you want to meet him?’ I said, ‘Heck, yeah! How do you know Tommie Smith?’ As it turns out Tommie was a track coach at Santa Monica College and taught a few of my friends. Long story short, he texted Tommie right there, Tommie invited us over and the rest is history.”